Daly to raise awareness for Cure Leukaemia research

Rachel Daly joined Aston Villa on a three-year deal in August 2022

Aston Villa striker Rachel Daly has been named an ambassador for Cure Leukaemia and hopes to raise awareness of funding for research nurses.

Daly, 32, was introduced to the cancer charity while on a training camp with England at St George's Park and says it was a "no-brainer to help them".

The Euro 2022 winner, who retired from international football in April, has been learning about the illness since her grandma was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) eight years ago.

"It’s been a sore subject in my family. CLL is where the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes," she told BBC Sport.

"We’ve been living with that in the family for many years now and I was always passionate about it.

"Cure Leukaemia are doing so much work across the country to fund research nurses – and that’s the most important thing – to run clinical trials and find new treatments.

"To know there are people out there that are really trying to help is amazing."

'I'm not just here to be a footballer'

Rachel Daly won Euro 2022 with England before retiring this year

Daly says it has been "really helpful" for her family to learn about the illness and what research is being carried out.

She hopes to share what she has learned with other families who might be going through similar journeys.

"[My grandma] is currently living in a nursing home and has two major treatments each year. It’s a constant battle," said Daly.

"I don’t think she actually realises how poorly she is. With the type she has, there is typically no symptoms at the beginning which was the case for her.

"Later on, non-painful lymph node swelling became apparent. There was tiredness, fevers, weight loss, and at first it was really scary as we didn’t know what was going on.

"To find out it was that, it was tough. It became a really difficult part of my mum’s life in particular as she had to be there for her and care for her."

But while they continue to search for treatments, Daly says there "can be some light at the end of the tunnel and some success stories".

She hopes to bring positivity when visiting patients, having spent time at Birmingham's Children's Hospital in December, which she says "touched" her.

This year Cure Leukaemia hope to fund specialist research nurses for children's patients and will be announcing 11 hospitals which will form a trial network.

It is a crucial time for the charity and Daly says it is important to use her platform to "drive change".

"The spotlight is on us and we’ve earned that right so I don’t want to see that go by the wayside and just post pictures on Instagram," said Daly.

"How can I be influential and help drive change on or off the pitch with diseases or mental health?

"I’m not just here to be a footballer, I’m here to make the world a better place and push positivity and raise awareness. It's so important to me."